Twitter users had plenty to say when Matt James kicked off his season of The Bachelor with a peek at his religious side. Among those who appreciated the move was Bachelor Nation's own Madison Prewett.
After the new lead of The Bachelor led his 32 women in prayer during his season premiere on Monday, Jan. 4, the runner-up of Peter Weber's season took to social media to offer her stamp of approval.
"Off to a great start," she tweeted about the dating series, adding the praise-hands emoji. "It's the opening in prayer for me."
Following the wacky-as-usual limo entrances, Matt admitted to host Chris Harrison that he was experiencing nerves. Once he walked inside to finally greet his women as a group, he delivered a prayer, which the stars of the series have not typically done in past seasons.
"I had so long to think about what I'm going to say to you all, and I'm gonna take a different approach," Matt told the ladies. "So if everybody can just bow their head really quick, I'm going to pray for everyone."
After sharing the prayer, the women expressed their support with a number of cheers. One contestant even called out, "OK, Reverend Matt!"
He then explained, "What you'll get to know about me is, anytime I'm feeling nervous, I'm just shooting out prayers just to put myself at ease."
Later that evening, the new Bachelor appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where host Jimmy Kimmel quipped that the prayer "knocked some of those women for an absolute loop."
As fans recall, Madison was vocal about her faith during her time on Peter's season. Some fans were surprised when she didn't reveal until later in the season that she planned to save herself for marriage, which is clearly different from the pilot's own lifestyle, given that he was famous for his multiple romps in a windmill with Hannah Brown.
After Peter ended his brief engagement to Hannah Ann Sluss during his finale, he and Madison tried to make a romance work, but they called it quits shortly after that final episode aired in March 2020. Last month, Peter announced that he and fellow season 24 alum Kelley Flanagan had ended their own relationship after a nine-month stint.
The franchise doesn't tend to address religion particularly overtly, although the topic was clearly a sticking point for Tayshia Adams after she learned during her recent finale of The Bachelorette that she and Ivan Hall did not share the same beliefs.
Perhaps it's not too late for Madison to give Chris Harrison a call and ask to redo Matt's season with herself in the mix? Then again, she appears to be doing just fine on her own, given the dating rumors about her and NBA player Michael Porter Jr.